Key result
Resuming sports is linked to ~40% less moderate-to-severe depression versus cancellations but trails pre-pandemic levels.
Why the study?
Sport cancellations early in the COVID-19 pandemic harmed US adolescents' health, but the effect of restarting sports during the pandemic had not been described.
Does the resumption of sports improve mental health, physical activity, and quality of life in adolescent athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to when sports were cancelled?
Cross-Sectional (n=10,380)
Does the resumption of sports improve mental health, physical activity, and quality of life in adolescent athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to when sports were cancelled?
Resuming sports during the COVID-19 pandemic improved physical activity, mental health, and quality of life in adolescent athletes compared to when sports were cancelled, though these metrics have not returned to pre-pandemic baselines.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Restarting sports improved but did not restore adolescent athletes' mental health, activity, and QoL to pre-pandemic levels; leaves open whether additional supports are needed.
CONTEXT: Sport cancellations early in the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative effect on the health of US adolescents. The effect of restarting sports during the pandemic has not been described. OBJECTIVE: To identify the effect of sport participation on the health of adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Sample recruited via social media. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Wisconsin adolescent athletes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Participants provided information regarding their age, sex, and sport(s) involvement and completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item to assess depression symptoms, the Hospital for Special Surgery Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale to measure physical activity, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 to measure quality of life (QoL). Data were collected in spring 2021 (Spring21; n = 1906, age = 16.0 ± 1.2 years, females = 48.8%), when interscholastic sports had fully resumed, and were compared with similar cohorts of adolescent athletes at 2 time points: (1) spring 2020 (Spring20; n = 3243, age = 16.2 ± 1.2 years, females = 57.9%) when sports were cancelled and (2) 2016-2018 (PreCOVID-19) before the pandemic (n = 5231, age = 15.7 ± 1.1 years, females = 65.0%). Comparisons were conducted via analysis-of-variance models and ordinal regressions with age and sex as covariates. RESULTS: The prevalence of moderate to severe depression was lower in Spring21 than in Spring20 but higher than in PreCOVID-19 (PreCOVID-19 = 5.3%, Spring20 = 37.8%, Spring21 = 22.8%; P < .001). Physical activity scores (mean [95% CI]) were higher in Spring21 than in Spring20 but lower than in PreCOVID-19 (PreCOVID-19 = 23.1 [22.7, 23.5], Spring20 = 13.5 [13.3, 13.7], Spring21 = 21.9 [21.6, 22.2]). Similarly, QoL scores were higher in Spring21 than in Spring20 but lower than in PreCOVID-19 (PreCOVID-19 = 92.8 [92.5, 93.1], Spring20 = 80.7 [80.3, 81.1], Spring21 = 84.3 [83.8, 84.8]). CONCLUSIONS: Although sports have restarted, clinicians should be aware that physical activity, mental health, and QoL are still significantly affected in adolescent athletes by the ongoing pandemic.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
McGuine et al. (2022) conducted a cross-sectional in Health of adolescent athletes during COVID-19 (n=10,380). Sport participation (Spring 2021) vs. Sport cancellations (Spring 2020) and PreCOVID-19 was evaluated on Prevalence of moderate to severe depression (p=<.001). Sport participation in Spring 2021 was associated with lower moderate to severe depression than during Spring 2020 cancellations (22.8% vs 37.8%; P<.001), but remained worse than pre-pandemic levels.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: